Eliminate the Fear

Remember your first journey into a Spinning class? Can you recall your thoughts before you built up the courage to even take the class? If like a lot of people, you were probably intimidated by the looks of the participants that leave the room. They had their hair plastered to the sides of their face, their face was red and they looked like they just came out of the most traumatic experience in the history of cardiovascular exercise.
Now think about the new person that walks into your studio. Remember the courage it took for you to finally take a Spinning class and the fear you may have had. Your job is to ease their anxiety, set them up properly and most importantly modify your profile for these individuals so they feel a sense of accomplishment at the conclusion of class. You can coach your planned profile to the rest of the class, but make sure you offer suggestions to the new student.
Our role as an instructor is to welcome everyone and help them on their own personal fitness journey. You can coach a profile for the entire class, but you also need to give modifications. For example, you have planned a segment of your class to include jumps. Give the handful of first-time students who are not ready to take on this advanced movement an option to either remain in the saddle or work on a standing flat while the remainder of the class does jumps. If you don?t give them an alternative to jumps, they will feel unprepared and will most likely feel like they did not accomplish anything in class.
Whenever I have a new student, I talk to them after I have properly set them up on their bike. I tell them that they should not compare themselves to anyone else in the class, but to do the best they can. If they feel they need to sit down during a standing movement or stand up during a seated movement, they should do so. I remind them that they are in control of their training and I?m only there to suggest a movement and intensity. They should listen to their bodies and eventually they will master each movement.
I also spend some time with them during class. I reevaluate their bike setup and body position during the movements. I offer words of encouragement and ask how they are feeling. I also use this time to give them the alternative to a difficult movement. I can do it off of the microphone and specific to the new student.
New students need our attention. Welcome them into your class. Let them know that you are glad to have them in your class. Remember, you were new once too.
blog by Ralph Mlady for community.spinning.com 3/8/2010